It’s the final weekend of the Glasgow Film Festival, and to commiserate the UK's foremost fantasy and horror film festival has travelled up north from its London home to test the steely stomach of any self-respecting movie geek.
Last night was my introduction to FrightFest: eight movies in the space of 30 hours within the cosy confines of the Glasgow Film Theatre, who could possibly resist? (If it was allowed I’d probably have just pitched up a tent in the place and stayed overnight, but the cinema staff didn't seem too happy with that idea for some reason.)
The festival is a lot more than a series of dry screenings, featuring all sorts of lovingly chosen additional trailers and clips, plus the appearance of many of the featured film’s directors. Most importantly there's noticeable camaraderie in the audience, people travelling from as far away as Madeira for the event.
Given the Scottish prowess in the Winter Olympic field it was therefore only right that proceedings kicked off with short Deadspiel, which saw the undead battle the, err, un-undead in what’s been billed as “greatest zombie curling film ever made” - a claim I wouldn’t dare to argue about, even if I could.
Then Creep and Triangle director Christopher Smith was on hand to premiere an exclusive clip from his upcoming Black Death, set during the bubonic plague and starring among others Sean Bean as a brutal knight. The brutal fight sequence we saw was grittily shot and it had an impressive starkness to it which boded well for its May release, shot in a modern style and being all the more effective for it, as limbs were hacked off and bodies unforgivingly beaten to a pulp.
After that it was time for first full feature Frozen, which has already been heavily hyped over on the other side of the pond and was due to be introduced by its director Adam Green. And so it would have been, except that in attempts to fly over from America especially for the event his airplane actually skidded off its runway due to the weather conditions, and he found himself literally frozen inside for four hours.
Still stranded in the Big Apple, Green had commendably managed during that ordeal to compose a wonderful email for the audience. It was duly read aloud and elicited many laughs as well as genuine appreciation for someone who seems very much part of the FrightFest family.
So what of Frozen? I have to admit that at first I wasn’t exactly grabbed by the characters, but as soon as they found themselves stranded on a ski resort’s chairlift the film became absolutely riveting.
It’s telling that Jaws was referenced in the movie, as Frozen deftly establishes itself as the same sort of strangely satisfying cinematic ordeal that excels in tension, one which leaves you looking at your watch and wishing quick respite for the main trio (while realising that help was unlikely to be on its way any time soon).
That the whole thing was actually shot on location, the crew reportedly risking life and limb high above ground to ensure its authenticity. Frozen proves Green a talent mainstream audiences will undoubtedly hear more of in the future, and the FrightFest reception made it clear he’s long since won over his true peers - it's just a shame he wasn't able to be in Glasgow to find that out himself.
Then some more trailers, the highlights of which were undoubtedly Bucktown (thankfully available online) and then the unintentionally hilarious The Pumaman (the internet helps out again), which made you weep for the indignities Donald Pleasance had subjected himself to during the no-budget Superman rip-off.
Next up was the world premiere of 2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams, a sequel shot for a fraction of the original’s budget but made with so much heart that it seemed to be intentionally placing itself at the opposite end of overblown CGI spectaculars. It was no coincidence that its brazenly and hilariously frank director Tim Sullivan saw fit to launch into a rant about the omnipresence of Avatar - which he certainly didn't seem a fan of - in comparison to movies such as those showing at FrightFest.
The gorehound’s cheerfully OTT “splat stick” flick concerns a bunch of dead Southern Maniacs exacting revenge upon the Yankees for slaughtering them during the Civil War, by means of luring some unsuspecting numpties to their annual Guts N' Glory Jamboree.
While the victims are grotesquely and comically dispatched pretty much every minority and majority group is given reason to be offended, and you’ll likely never look at a corncob in the same way again. All of which means it’s unlikely to be playing in a cinema near you soon, but makes it ideal for some riotous and ridiculous home entertainment, even if it might have you throwing up your popcorn.
Last up was Stag Night, which its attendant director Peter A. Dowling described afterwards as being something akin to Deliverance on the subway network, its plot concerning some partygoers getting off at the wrong spot and then being forced into a desperate fight for survival within New York's underground.
Strangely it almost suffered for being markedly more slick and conventional than the preceding movie - not its own fault as much as just the need to readjust to normality - and some of the events were pretty clearly telegraphed. However, it will have little trouble finding itself a fanbase, shot in a style purposely reminiscent of Paul Greengrass and 28 Days Later which effectively conveyed our heroes' sense of panic.
Though the setting is comparable to Creep and the atmosphere was similar to The Descent, Stag Night was very much its own film, and had the biggest spontaneous cheer of the night for a death inventive enough that I’d say it almost justifies watching for that one moment alone. All in all a fantastic night of fun, and I’m glad to say that even such horrors have prevented me getting a good enough sleep to prepare myself for what lies ahead today. Five more movies to survive, but I certainly won’t complain, not least since it’s been a scream so far…
